Standards of Academic Progress for Financial Aid Recipients

In order to receive or continue to receive financial aid funded by the government and/or Stonehill College (including student or parent education loans, grants, scholarships and jobs), a student must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined below:

Satisfactory Academic Progress

A student must pass a specific number of cumulative credits he/she attempts. (The number of credits attempted equals the number of credits in which the student is officially enrolled at the end of each Add/Drop period). Credits that are graded “Incomplete” as well as credits from which a student withdraws after the Add/Drop period are considered credits attempted but not satisfactorily completed. (If an incomplete grade is subsequently changed to a passing grade, satisfactory academic progress can be recalculated based on receipt of a passing grade.) In addition, a student’s cumulative average at the end of two academic years of study must be at least 2.00, and his/her record must continue to meet this standard at each review. A student must take courses at Stonehill College to raise their cumulative GPA.

Students are reviewed annually for compliance with Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, at the end of each spring semester. In addition to the cumulative average noted above, this review covers all coursework attempted since the first period of enrollment.

To be in compliance a student must successfully complete at least 67% of all credits attempted. Transfer credits earned by students from other institutions and accepted by Stonehill College are included in the determination of a student’s percentage of completed classes. However transfer credits are not counted towards students qualitative GPA standards.

To regain eligibility for financial aid after unsatisfactory progress has been declared, a student must complete the number of credits not passed within the period which resulted in the loss of aid and achieve the required cumulative grade-point average. 

To continue to be eligible for federal Title IV funding, a student must complete in the aggregate, 67% of all credits attempted, including credits transferred in, at the end of the established full academic period. This ensures that no student takes longer than 150% of the normal time for completing his/her degree, based upon enrollment status.  For example, in a program requiring 124 credits for graduation, 150% of the normal time equals 186 credits attempted. The time to degree completion includes all courses attempted, including courses from which the student has withdrawn after the add-drop period, courses which are incomplete, and courses which have been accepted by the College in transfer.

General Provisions

Repeat coursework taken for the purpose of increasing a previously passing grade can only be considered in qualifying a student for financial aid enrollment status or satisfying a determination of non compliance with Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements 1 time per course.

Appeals

The denial of financial aid because of failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements may be appealed if the student believes there are special circumstances which should be considered. The appeal must include an explanation of why the student believes he/she failed to achieve satisfactory academic progress and what has changed that will allow the student to achieve progress by the end of the next financial aid payment period. A written appeal, sent within 15 days of notification of ineligibility for aid, should be addressed to the Director of Student Financial Services. Appeals will be considered by committee. A response will be mailed to the student within 15 days of receipt of such appeal. Appeals may be approved if justification presented is acceptable and it has been determined that the student is able to meet SAP standards by the end of the next financial aid payment period.

A positive response to an appeal results in the student being placed on Financial Aid Probation. The student then re-gains eligibility for financial aid for the next financial aid payment period only. Progress will be re-measured subsequent to the period of Financial Aid Probation to assure compliance with SAP after that one financial aid payment period.